"When the time comes to use words, the important thing is to put _the
words in the voice, not the voice in the words_, to quote Juliani, the
great teacher, with whom I was associated in Paris. More voices have
been ruined by the stiff, exaggerated use of the lips in pronouncing,
than in any other way. When we put the words in the voice, in an easy,
natural way, we have bel canto.
"Another thing absolutely necessary is breath support. Hold up the
breath high in the body, for high tones, though always with the throat
relaxed. This point is not nearly enough insisted upon by teachers of
singing.
"The points I have mentioned already prove that a vocal teacher who
desires the best results in his work with others, must know how to sing
himself; he should have had wide experience in concert and opera before
attempting to lead others along these difficult paths. Because a man can
play the organ and piano and has accompanied singers is not the
slightest cause for thinking he can train voices in the art of song. I
have no wish to speak against so-called teachers of singing, but say
this in the interests of unsuspecting students.
"It is impossible," continued Mr. Duval, "to put the whole method of
vocal training into a few sentences. The student advances gradually and
naturally, but surely, from the beginnings I have indicated, to the
trill, the pizzicati, to more rapid scales, to learning the attack, and
so on. Of course diction plays a large part in the singer's development.
With the first song the student learns to put other vowels in the same
voice with which the exercises on Ah have been sung, and to have them
all of the same size, easily and loosely pronounced. Never permit the
pronunciation to be too broad for the voice. The pronunciation should
never be mouthed, but should flow into the stream of the breath without
causing a ripple. This is bel canto!
"In teaching I advise two pupils sharing the hour, for while one is
singing the other can rest the voice and observe what is being taught.
It is too fatiguing to a young voice to expect it to work a full half
hour without rest.
"I was teaching in my Paris studio for a number of months after the war
started, before coming to America. It is my intention, in future, to
divide my time between New York and Paris. I like teaching in the French
capital for the reason I can bring out my pupils in opera there. I am
also pleased to teach in my own land, for the pleasant connections I
have made here, and for the fresh, young American voices which come to
me to be trained."